Benefits to the birds...
Loss of habitat is one of the greatest threats to birds. By developing your 'backyard habitat' you can help make up for the losses in natural habitats. The food, water and cover you provide can be especially helpful during these periods:
- Winter, when food and water may be hard to find.
- Spring and fall migration, when birds are burning lots of energy during their migratory journeys that may cover thousands of miles in a single year.
- Nesting. Cover can provide nesting locations, attract insects for insect eating birds and provide seeds for seed eaters.
Benefits to you...
- In addition to being just plain fun, watching birds can help relieve stress.
- Watching birds at a feeder or birdbath can be a family experience, with kids, parents and grandparents.
- Watching birds can often be a spark that gets kids kids interested in nature and the outdoors. More and more research is revealing the real health benefits to kids spending more time in the outdoors.
The three ingredients for attracting birds...
- Cover: The most important element in attracting birds. Cover provides a place for birds to hide from predators and bad weather, a place to nest and often insects and seeds for the birds to eat. Select the Habitat link on the left for additional details. Visit the Gardening for Birds section for specific gardening information.
- Water: Adding a water feature to your backyard is the second best way to attract more birds, and a greater variety of speciess. Adding an on-ground birdbath with a waterfall rock or dripper is sure-fire method to attract more birds.
- Food: Food is the third most important element (in most cases) for attracting more birds. The Food section will provide you with detailed information on which foods are best for which species.
The best situation, of course, is to offer all three elements. The birds will thank you for it. Check out homes for birds at www.aboutbirdhouses.com.
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